NAIVE STRATEGY WOULD LEAD TO LOSS OF LIFE

Re: "Tories to launch crackdown on grow-ops, drug dealers," May 23.

As a nurse who works in the inner city of Vancouver, I am surrounded
by people experiencing unimaginable suffering and pain who are living
with the scourge of addiction. I hope that the prime minister, as he
unveils his drug policy initiative, doesn't forget that needle
exchanges save lives and the supervised injection site has a role to
play in a comprehensive drug strategy that's made in Canada.

A naive, simplistic and politically motivated plan will ultimately
cost the lives of hundreds of human beings. It will put us back into
the dark ages where we resort to using leaches to treat infection,
and lobotomies to cure mental illness.

Let's hope that the gains we have made in seeing humanity as worthy
of real treatment will last. Now, I fear that fear itself will lead
us back into the cave.

Kim Markel, RN,

Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.